Cheers to Mr. King and his Queen

My both parents are from Paramin - *A village located on one of the highest points of western area of the Northern Range in Trinidad and Tobago, which forms part of the Maraval area.

Lemme tell you! They were both so damn proud of their heritage too.

Although they both moved to Maraval to build their family, my brother and I spent most of our vacation time with our cousins on the hills. #thebestoftimes

Fun fact....two of mum's sisters married two of my father's brothers! Shut your mouth! hahahaha. Yep! Three sisters married three brothers. Mum and dad were the last to get married and well...you know what the say 'The best always go last because they are the best and the best looking' or something like that 😉

Anyways, after my mum passed dad began taking long walks up the hills in the morning. He would set out at the crack of dawn. Some days he would walk for hours - stick in hand to ward off the stray dogs (yeah, that's right...stray dogs). Sometimes I would join him but, he was the fittest and very used to climbing those hills. Me, not so much. So he would talk for the entire walk, pointing out the different trees and sharing stories about his childhood. All the while I'm walking in zigzags, saying almost nothing, trying to control my breathing and conserve energy...pretending I'm fully engaged.

The Paramin R C school was being reconstructed and each time we passed the building he would tell me how proud he was of the school. We (mostly him, remember....I am dying) would discuss what a new school would mean to the community. We would criticize the design of the school (neither of us are qualified engineers but hey! We both have a good eye for quality shit). He would express how excited he was to see the finished unit and his plans to give back to the community.

My dad loved children...I guess that's why he grew his beard to look like Santa. Maybe God also knew him looking like Santa was just was the children needed. My dad was the greatest man I ever knew. Seriously, there's NO one greater. I always tell people Dad was my father on earth the way I imagine God is my father in heaven - looking out for me and protecting me fiercely! No one messes with his daughter. EVER!

Sadly, Dad wasn't around when they completed the new school.

In 2017, I visited Paramin R C school and asked the Principal if they would accept an offer of two scholarships to the top two students at the SEA (Secondary Entrance Assessment) exam - The George Boisson scholarship for the boy and the Jane Frances Boisson scholarship for the girl. He said yes.

This year marks 8 years since we started the scholarships in honor of my beloved parents - two of the most remarkable people I ever ever knew.

Cheers to these two recipients!

Faith Lopez

Medad Fournillier

Mum and Dad, I will forever love and cherish you.

Thank you always

PS please subscribe to my mailing lists. Thank you!

Signed: - Cindy-Ann tongue-tongue (my mum nicknamed me this because I was always so cheeky).

The BEST!